I really don’t see the benefit of redshirting in college basketball. If a player is good he will contribute as a freshmen. If a player is not good enough to contribute as a freshman, he will most likely be recruited over in 1-2 years anyway and will either leave via the portal or become a role player. The likelihood that any player stays at Purdue for 5 years is remote. So in redshirting a player, what you are basically doing is giving him an extra year to play somewhere else when he leaves.
I look at Heide and I look at his future at Purdue. How much did he really benefit from red shirting verses being the last man on the bench last year? This is his second year at Purdue. He has made just as much progress as any other second year player at Purdue has made. I don’t see any difference in his game made by redshirting verses playing a few minutes. Is he starting this year? Will he start in the future? Or will he be recruited over and be a role player for his next three years at Purdue?
I look at Myles. He had a choice of redshirting verses playing. He chose to play. Would he be any better next year if he had chosen to red shirt this year instead of playing? I doubt it. Is he going to beat out Loyer or smith and start next year? Doubtful. Now, look to the future, look down the road 4 years from now. Will Myles be better for having played this year? Or will he better in 4 years if he redshirted this year? I believe he will be the same .
Next year we will have Harris and Benter. It’s going to be crowded at the guard position. Sure, we could redshirt someone. But the truth is Smith and Loyer will also still be here. As will Myles and Hyde and Catchings. The reality is someone will play and someone will not.
Looking at Furst, he didn’t redshirt. Would he be better this year if he did? No.
When I look at redshirting , I also look at the portal. If a player doesn’t play, he leaves. Look at the two WRs that left Ga to play for Purdue. Look at all the players who left Mich and OSU. Look at Purdue basketball players in the last 5 years.
Look at our legacy player who decided not to redshirt. He had to realize his playing time would be minimal this year. But looking forward, his playing time is not going to increase. And looking forward, the reality is his playing time would not have increased next year if he had redshirted this year. He will be better next year simply because of the practices and coaching by Painter this year. But he received that regardless if he redshirted or not.
I’ve never played for a college basketball team. If a player redshirts, is he not expected to still attend every game? Does he sit with the team at games? Does he wear a uniform? Does he join the team in the locker room? Or does he just sit with the fans and not associate with the team?
So what’s the real difference between redshirting and being the last man off the bench and playing 1-5 minutes? The only difference and benefit I see is that the player has an extra year when he transfers to become a grad transfer somewhere else
